Glitters in The Air
by caviardaydreams
Summary: I waited, waited but it never came... from where I expected the impact to come from. Something hard knocked the air out of me as it crashed into my torso and as an arm securely wrapped itself around my waist. I was too weak to see what was happening. "Jan stay with me!" When I heard his voice, I felt life rush through my entire body, I knew I had to do what he said. I had to stay.
1. Chapter 1

This is it. Here I was living someone else's dream. Majority of my countrymen's dream. A dream that was to me a nightmare. I've always wanted to stay in my country for college. It was my family that thought I'd be better off studiyng in some foreign land. The level of their colonial mentality is off the scale. I'm here obviously because I have no say in how I'm going to live my life. Well, maybe now that I'm oceans away from them I might actually get a taste of what life is like as a free man.

The cab stopped in front of a town house that was painted light yellow, just how I imagined it to be. My very own space in this new world of new wonders. I unlocked the door and took in everything as I went through the doorframe into what I'll be waking up to every morning from now on. It was spacious for a place where only one person was to live in. There was a soft and comfortable looking couch, a television and a small table in front of it. I walked to the mini kitchen. It was complete with everything I needed to cook, once I teach myself how to cook that is. I went up to my room It was small, just the way I wanted it. The walls were painted off white and the floors were covered with rugs shaded light pink. There was a bed with a thick comforter for cold, lonely nights, and a wooden desk and chair where I can study. I dragged my luggages inside and started to unpack before sleeping.

A loud buzzing sound began to echo in my head. I tried to ignore it but it was getting louder and louder, pulling me away from the comforts brought about by my dream and into the reality I had to face that day. I hit the alarm clock a little too hard and made my way to the bathroom to take a bath. I had to look presentable. It was the first day of classes after all. I won't be able to attract possible friends if I didn't look half as pleasant as I should.

The cab was running faster than the cab I rode yesterday. I wasn't sure whether our destination was school or the afterlife. But he was from here so I trust that it was the first one.

The moment I stepped out of the cab, I marvelled at the beautiful institution in front of me. _This is where I'm going to study? _I asked myelf. It was beautiful. The tall white pillars gave the feel of excellence and prestiguous, high-standard education. The green fields made the institution look like it was far from the cities. It was amazing but I couldn't help but feel intimidated at what I was staring at. I felt so small standing in front of it. With a gulp, I walked up the stairs and into the university.

The day passed by in a blink of an eye and before I knew it, I was already making my way home. It was around eight o'clock and the city lights were beckoning to me. I decided to walk home which I eventually figured out all by myself was a bad idea. I got lost. Yes. I was lost, all alone in a city that I've never been to before. I walked around trying to look for anything familiar at the same time trying not to look lost and confused.

"Are you lost young lady?" A man, around mid twenties in a coat and a hat placed an arm on my shoulders.

"No I'm not, but thank you for you concern sir." I brushed off his arm and turned around but before I could step away from him, he placed an arm around my shoulder and held me in place tightly.

In a low voice, he whispered. "Now now, why are we in a hurry? Don't you wanna hang out first and get to know me?"

"Please let go of me." I tried to keep calm but my voice gave me away.

"Don't be scared. It won't hurt. Just a lit-" I kicked him where the sun don't shine and ran as fast as I could but not before receiving a slash on my arm from the knife he was holding. I ran but he ran faster. I made a turn into a neighborhood. Wrong choice, there wasn't as much people. I ran and ran as far as my legs could take me. I looked back only to see him catching up on me. Before I could turn to see where I was going I bumped into someone who was able to catch me by holding onto my arms. This caused me to scream in pain from the pressure he put on the wound on my arm.

I tried my best to ignore the pain as I looked into the eyes of the person I bumped into. He seemed kind but I was too afraid to trust him and so I pushed him away and began to run again. But before I could get any farther, I heard the man who was after me grunt. I turned only to see him on the ground unconscious.

The man who caught me walked towards me as I stared at him. I was immotile. I didn't know whether I should trust him or not but I was too tired to make a move.

"_Dios mio" _I faintly whispered as I covered my face with my palms to hide my tears.

"Are you okay?" He was careful not to shock me. He walked ever so slowly and examined me with concerned eyes. I removed my palms from my face and continued to stare at him as tears rolled down my face.

"I don't know_." _I whispered.

"I'm sorry I don't understand." He stopped just right in front of me. And looked and continued to examine me.

"I d-don't know. I was just trying to find my way back home when someone attempted to do God-knows-what to me. I hate it here. I wanna go back home please!"

"You're new here aren't you?" All I did was nod in response to his question.

"I'm Peter. Peter Parker. I live along Baker street. Do you want me to take you home?"

"I stay there too." I wiped the tears on my cheeks and started to compose myself. "I just moved in yesterday from the Philippines to study here."

"You own the light yellow house?" He said brightly.

"Yes." I attempted to give him a smile but the pain I felt on my arm quickly changed my expression.

"We have to get that patched up. I'll take you the hospital before bringing you home."

I walked with him passed the unconcious guy who was the reason I was in that situation. Before I lost sight of him, I saw webs cover his body. Odd.

"There. You're good to go." The nurse happily tied the last knot on my bandage. I thanked her and made my way outside to where peter was waiting for me.

"Shall we?" He pointed his thumb to the door that led outside the hospital.

"So why did you move here?" He asked as we walked down the streets of Manhattan.

"My parents thought it would be best for me to study college here." I lightly smiled at him. "I wanted to stay in the Philippines but as usual, I had no say in what I can do in life."

"Well, think of it this way. At least you're free to do anything you want here since no one's here to stop you." I laughed at his remarks. "What about you, what do you do?"

"Well, I recently finished high school like you and am a photographer for a newspaper." He said brightly.

"That's cool. So you get to be where the action is all the time?"

"Pretty much." He chuckled.

I enjoyed the conversation too much that I didn't notice that we were already in front of my house. "Oh, we're here."

He nodded. "Try to stay out of trouble. And if you need me, I'm just three houses away from you, right over there" He pointed to the direction of his home.

"Thank you so much Peter. I'm Jan by the way. You're the nicest person I've met here so far." I gave him a smile.

"Well, Jan, I hope we can hang again soon." He smiled back at me. "I have to go. My aunt may must be worried sick already."

"Okay, take care. And thank you so so much again."

Wth that, my first day in my new world ended in a light note, thanks to Peter Parker.


	2. Chapter 2

It's been a week since I arrived in the U.S. and I have not one decent friend on my list as expected from someone as shy and introvered as myself. No matter, today's a new day to try, harder at that, to find company that will hopefully last at least until my last year in college.

Today, since I woke a little earlier than I normally do, I decided to walk to school. And because I was well aware that I was going to kill my feet by walking at least five miles, I opted to wear jeans and a pair of sneakers, my favorite blue ones.

_Click! _The knob locked, a sign that I was good to go. I jumped down from the highest step of the stairs down to the pavement, landing with my knees slightly bent to lessen the impact on my legs. With the keys in my front pocket, my backpack secured on my back, and my shoes tied neatly and tightly, I started walking to school. I took in the exteriors of the houses that I passed by as I walked. I never had the chance to look at them one by one since I would got school in a cab everyday. The scene was peaceful, more peaceful than the busy streets back in the Philippines with jeeps honking loudly to call in passengers, clogging the streets each time they stopped.

I stopped in front of the house that Peter Parker pointed to me on the night I first saw him. And also the last. It's odd that I haven't bumped into him considering we live only three houses away from each other. Brushing the thought away, I quicken my pace a little so that I can make it to school in time for my first class.

Reaching the busier side of the city, I tried to minimize the number of rushing people I bumped into and I tried my best not to get myself killed by the cars rushing to their respective destinations. The stoplight turned red, signalling the pedestrians that it was safe to cross. Or so I thought. Right when I was in the middle of the street, a minivan came in view from the sky, meaning to crush every inch of the body of the little kid standing in front of me. Instinctively, as if my body was composed of elements much stronger than the child's body in front of me, I threw myself forward, pushing him out of the way of the falling minivan. I landed on my knees with my eyes closed. I called out to all the saints in heaven to pray for my soul as I waited for the minivan to crush me, but it never hit me.

I opened my eyes to see the minivan hovering above me, suspended in midair by what seemed like spiderwebs. "Are you alright?" A familiar voice came from behind me. I looked up to see a masked man covered in red his hands stretched out for me to reach. "On a side note, mini should never be associated with things that can crush people's bones." He joked."I already had it covered back there, but thanks for the help anyway." I chuckled as I placed my hand in his.

"Just doing my job. Gotta fly! Stay in school!" and with that, he raised his arm, and out from the bottom of his palms squirted what I assumed was made of the same material that held the not-so-mini van in midair. He pulled on the web, flying from building to buidling until he was out of sight. Still stunned with my near-death-by-minivan experiece, I continued my walk to school.

The bell rang just seconds after I've reached the classroom. _Who was that masked man? _I've heard of a hero that kept the city safe in the news several times back when I was in the Philippines. _Why did his voice sound so much like-_

My trail of thoughts was cut by a light tap on my right shoulder. I turned my head to see a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes looking at me. "Hi. Do you have an extra pen?"

It took me seconds before resurfacing from the bottomless pools that were his eyes to answer his question. "Yes. Here you go." "Thanks."

Time flew by ever so slowly in the classroom. As soon as the bell rang, I collected my things and rushed out to go to my next class. But before I could go through the door, I hear someone call out. "Hey! Your pen." The guy who borrowed my pen walked to me with my pen in hand. "Oh yeah, thank you." I smiled. "No. Thank name's Luke by the way." He offered his hand for me to shake. What girl in the right mind would let this opportunity pass to introduce herself to a god-like man who has presented himself in front of her voluntarily? "I'm Jan." With a smile, I introduced myself as I reached to shake his hand.

"Where are you heading?"

"To my history class." I looked at my watch to check the time and was surprized that I had only two minutes left to get to that class in time.E

"Oh my, I'm running late! I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Luke!" I ran down the hallway, completely forgetting about my pen.

There was a seat near the backdoor which I occupied when I got to the room. Shortly after I've settled, the door opened to reveal Luke standing right outside the classroom. He made his way to the seat next to me and made himself comfortable before turning to talk to me.

"You forgot this." He placed the pen on my table. "You just dahsed off." He chuckled as he brushed away strands of hair that were in front of his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in this class too." I said a bit timidly.

"It's alright."

Throughout the period, we stayed quiet, well for most of it. There were instances wherein he would try to start a small conversation but I would just brush it off. _Okay, so this guy isn't as attractive as I thought he would be when I first saw him. In fact he was borderline annoying. _

I quickly dismissed myself from his presence once class ended. The day passed by without him in sight which was the way I wanted it. I'd rather be a lone wolf than have him around me, constantly tormenting me with his senselessness. I walked out the vicinity of of the university and on to the pavements that would ultimately lead me home.

Once I reached the door, I sat on the steps to take in the view of the night sky. It was breathtaking. One of the few things that make my stay here bearable. I saw a figure move from my peripheral view and so I turned my gaze away from the sky back to reality. It was Peter.

"Hey." He greeted with a smile.

"Hey."

"So, how's your stay here so far. I hope you're not hating it that much."

"I nearly got crushed by a not-so-mini van this morning. It was weird how webs were able to hold it back from hitting me. And you know what's weirder? Right after that moment I thought I was going to die, A man in red spandex appeared. I think he was the one who saved me 'coz-"

"Oh you mean spider man?"

"Spider what?" I asked a bit weirded out with what I heard.

"Yeah, spider man. Doesn't sound as attractive, when you think about it but he does his job, and that's pretty much all that matters to him I guess."

"it doesn't sound _that_ bad. That's so cool. So those _are _spider webs that I saw earlier. I wonder how he does that."

"We all do." He chuckled "Anyway, why are you out here on your own?"

"Just taking in the view of the nightsky. But it's getting kind of chilly out here." I grabbed my keys from my pocket and headed to the door. Once it was open, I offered him a warm couch and coffee though his house is less than a minute a way from mine.

He climbed up the steps and into my living room.

"It gets lonely here since I live alone." I blurted while preparing two mugs of coffee.

"Have you made many friends?" He asked absorbing the interior of the living room.

"Not a decent one."- "Are you saying that I don't make decemt company?" He joked.

"I didn't mean that. You're my only friend here in this new, big, and, scary world." I bowed my head at the thought of being away from everything I've come to know back in the Philippines.

"Let me be a good friend to you then. Tomorrow's a Sunday. I can tour you around this scary new world, and you'll see it isn't half as scary as you think it is right now." He said with a big smile on his face before taking a sip from the mug I handed to him.

"I'd love that, thank you.."

I guess I just wasn't look in the right place for the company I've been longing for. Turns out, he's been nearby after all. Just three houses away from me.


End file.
